MODELLING LAGOS SMART CITY

The Lagos master plan should be implemented in phases, argues Willie Eleje-Abili

My article, “Lessons from Rwanda “, in THISDAY of October 24 was an attempt to examine the character of Lagos and other smart cities around Nigeria, in the light of truths which were assumed to be self-evident about the standard of a model city-state like Singapore. But, for the demand of brevity, that article must have left the reader wondering to what effect, if indeed the Rwandan example was instructive. To that question we now turn, for I believe that, if one should give the answer to a question, he should be able to search it out. Around the year 2000, emerged a charismatic leader, who had a fascinating dream about Lagos as a mega-city. We began to see a transformation in the physical landscape with greenery, street-lighting, metro-rail line, bus rapid transit lanes. Before then, a generation of kids grew up in Lagos without experience of novel recreation. But we also began to see a resurgence of classical urban artifacts like amusement parks and cinemas and with them, a re-invention of the middle class. Lagos is now one big construction site, with modern bus terminus, world class transport interchange and organised aquatic inter-modalities. Strategic link roads such as Ajibulu, Okota fly-over, Lekki hanging bridge, to mention a few, are unlocking potential and releasing latent energy. The challenge of modelling Lagos Smart City-State revolves around organising the society and managing demographic pressures on social infrastructure. Principal among which is waste management, maintenance culture and socio-cultural re-orientation. Everyday, more than 20,000 people come into Lagos, while birth rate is also growing exponentially. So, while state security and welfare is provided arithmetically, population is growing geometrically. If I were in a position so to do, I would implement the Lagos master plan in phases beginning with Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Etiosa axis of low hanging fruits, which I would render an exclusive demonstration centre of inspiration, such that, experience gathered in that phase, can be applied to improve the process, than trying to do all at once and end up doing little or nothing at all. But what is of serious concern is that the air, land and sea gateways to Lagos and indeed the country are in a sorry state. Apapa, which is the sea-gateway, is rapidly becoming one big tanker and trailer-motor park, such that Creek Road, an important industrial arterial, has ceased to exist since around 2005, shutting down an economic value-chain of multiplier effect. Today there is massive downturn in commerce and industry around Apapa, because, we now have a continuum of stationary articulated vehicles on the fly-over mushrooming its way into other key Lagos central business districts and most of them are laden not with export but import cargo which would not improve our balance of trade. The incredible traffic situation has been compounded by on-going attempt to re-surface Apapa Wharf road with down-reaching drainage that would soon become a refuse dump, a project believed to be in counterpart funding with Dangote, who, in the stead of community relations, would recoup his cost exposure with tax rebates. The fact is that with the perennial logjam on the road through Tin-Can Island, Apapa has become a cul-de-sac and with three major seaports and inherent industrial and commercial activities, the district traffic carrying capacity has been far exceeded. I therefore see no reason to expect that the on-going work on Wharf road though necessary, should be expedient. What should be expeditious is how to get the Apapa port railway operations working to evacuate the cargoes, which would otherwise go by road. Now, if we should not be concerned about Apapa, since mercantilism would care-less about ennobling sight and sound, provided it does not get in the way of amassing wealth, what about the Murtala Muhammed International Airport road which is supposed to be the first impression of more sophisticated visitors that may be contemplating bringing investment capital? As soon as you emerge from an infra-dig ambience around the arrival hall, you are serenaded by a short stretch of drive. But unfolding as one degrading vista, the Airport road would not be that representative of Lagos and if indeed, would not present the city in any good light at all. Unfortunately, there is usually a traffic hold-up on that stretch, which ensures an extended spectacle of bad impressions. As you drive by NAHCO, you would find that bogus edifice are now springing up around the air-force base vicinity, where one could take a leisurely work, occluding the beautiful landscape. As you drive over to the junction around the Hajj Camp, you encounter a motley crowd of commuter taxis in shouting blue, hurdled together and howling on top of their voices. Further down, you are confronted by a rag-tag of roadside hawkers of dogs aside roast-corn followed by scarecrows of tricycles known as Keke-NAPEP. You then observe that littered all over are polyethylene materials and disused carcass of cars, vandalised streetlights falling over themselves, an expansive median over-grown with weed, a plume of carbon monoxide and dust haze, horns honking madly, juke boxes blaring, men wolfing down meals over sewage, which by the way are served in non-bio-degradable disposable plastic plates, total laissez faire and anomie. Now, if the penultimate governor of Lagos could interprete the vision of a greater Lagos and the incumbent administration is trying to prove that the dream can be sustained, it is very much in doubt, if the vision has been communicated to citizens, such that they can own the process of bringing it to full effect. So, there is no commensurate cultural renewal to the massive physical transformation. Unfortunately, a leader can give you a chance to become your dream but cannot become you. He shows a form but you are the platform of traction. No one compels you to eat with washed hands, so why should it be government that will tell you not to defecate in the water-front or to dispose your refuse in the garbage bin? The fact is that, knowledge in itself, cannot make one do right or wrong, what we need as a people is a lot more consideration of own-self, for it is a people that are lacking in understanding that will be getting what they are not deserving. I believe that most investors around Lagos only find the sheer volume of market irresistible and they are not usually caucasians but portfolio businessmen from around the Maghreb and Southeast Asia, who come in as economic refugees to ease their fiscal pressure and bolt out as though from a latrine. The late sage, Obafemi Awolowo, was a man of fabulous dreams. He had a dream of Ibadan as a city that can compare with top African cities of his time, like Cairo. At a time when Africa was largely in the dark, he built the Cocoa House around the late 1950s, a sky-scrapper such as was only replicated in Malaysia in the late 1990s, with Oil-palm money. He erected an exotic Congress Building - the Mapo Hall and founded the Ivy-league University of Ife. He built the then magnificent hill-top Liberty Hotel, the Adamasingba Stadium, the Moor Plantation and introduced free education. But what is perhaps more intriguing is that, he introduced television to Ibadan before Paris, Dublin and Brussels. I believe that the dignity of the human soul, fantastic inspiration, social emancipation and mass mobilisation occupied the defining leit motif of his dream of a mega-city state. Ibadan has not lived up to his vision, probably because his Achilles heel was that, no one followed closely after that could sustain the legacy of his dream. Lagos should learn from the mistake of Ibadan.

THE CHALLENGE OF MODELLING LAGOS SMART CITY-STATE REVOLVES AROUND ORGANISING THE SOCIETY AND MANAGING DEMOGRAPHIC PRESSURES ON SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE. PRINCIPAL AMONG WHICH IS WASTE MANAGEMENT, MAINTENANCE CULTURE AND SOCIO-CULTURAL REORIENTATION